TRADE unionists are often accused in living in the past by sections of the hostile right-wing press, but in the tough working conditions of the 2020s even those who dig up the past are unionising — and threatening to down trowels. Far from living an Indiana Jones style high life, archaeologists are facing multiple pressures including low pay, poor site safety, bullying and forced overtime.

Archaeology has, in some quarters at least, a reputation for elitism due to the legacy of the 19th and 20th-century archaeologists who spent months if not years, travelling abroad, particularly in the Middle East, partaking in what today we might consider graverobbing. There was also a class snobbery against self-taught archaeologists such as the working-class Basil Brown and women such as Peggy Piggott who both worked on the Sutton Hoo excavation from the British Museum.

There is also a stereotype of archaeology being full of enthusiastic amateurs — almost a kind of hobby. This therefore justifies low wages — or indeed no wages at all — as many digs rely on volunteers who it is believed should just be grateful to be there, even if the dig is thousands of miles away from home in southern Europe or the Middle East.

Although archaeologists can join trade unions, organising them has traditionally been a challenge, even though unlike some industries the work cannot easily be outsourced. Arguably the archaeological workplace out in the field is fragmented with many workers on short-term contracts in different locations with no established base.

A 1995 report concluded that some archaeologists saw the profession as a “hobby” — a leftover from the 1970s volunteer culture. A survey at the time found that 51 per cent were union members with 55 per cent being members of Unison and 25 per cent Institution of Professionals, Managers and Specialists (IPMS), a largely Civil Service-based union.

Research conducted in 1999 showed that although a majority of workplaces recognised unions, this was much more common at national heritage organisations and universities than private-sector organisations.

Prospect Archaeology union is a specialist branch with around 1,300 members within the larger and established 150,000-member strong Prospect union. It has a young membership almost equally balanced between male and female.

It has trained reps who are archaeologists themselves working hard to get recognition for Prospect members in archaeological workplaces along with free personal, legal and pension advice along with mentoring.

According to the branch committee, Prospect Archaeology is one of the “most important” branches not just within the heritage section of Prospect but also the union as a whole. It has a “growing influence” over the industry with the idea of a separate archaeology branch emerging following a growing number of unionised archaeologists in London travelling around the country for work and helping membership to grow.

They also admitted that the nature of the industry makes unionisation more difficult, something that is an ongoing challenge, as they only have recognition at a minority of the workplaces where members work. It is hoped that specific workplace branches will help reps support members in terms of pay and workplace issues, something that is already happening at the Museum of London (MOLA) and in the private sector at Preconstruct Archaeology.

“The industry is quite diffuse. Our members work across 98 companies with recognition at seven of them so far. Our ambition is to increase our collective bargaining representation further.

“Where we have recognition, members are organised in sections, for example the MOLA Section or Preconstruct archaeology Section, with a section committee and reps who support members with workplace issues and pay negotiations.”

Oxford and Wessex are separate standalone branches where Prospect Archaeology have won recognition from employers, and as a result can negotiate on behalf of members from a much stronger position.

“Each section has their own workplace issues to tackle and the reps within that section will work on behalf of the members there. Issues include pay negotiations, grievances, disciplinaries, health and safety, equality diversity and inclusion, review policies and negotiating terms and conditions.”

The committee admitted however that there are numerous challenges in unionising archaeologists including the lack of workplace recognition, the dispersed nature of the workforce and anti-union legislation.

“One of our greatest challenges is the dispersed and diverse workforce across the UK, however, through our use of social media and our cross-industry collaborations with other archaeological organisations we have been able to reach individuals outside organisations which do not recognise Prospect.

“Challenges to organising in general are expected to come via government who tie the hands of unions by looking to restrict access to non-members.”

Given the nature of the industry, many archaeologists work on precarious short-term contracts which has posed a challenge in terms of ensuring that these workers receive their full pension entitlement.

“Recently discussions with employers have centred around pensions and making sure that those who are on short-term contracts are not losing out on their pension provision. Every year as part of our pay reviews we also review subsistence and travel payments, seeking out improvements and enhancements.”

Industrial action in the sector is clearly more challenging than in other professions such as communication, transport and education where large numbers of staff work together. However, the branch committee drew inspiration from the 2019 strike at MOLA which included archaeologists from Prospect. The strike was brought about when staff at MOLA, one of the largest providers of archaeological services in the country, were struggling to earn the London living wage despite having degrees and postgraduate qualifications in archaeology.

“The diffuse nature of archaeology is challenging when it comes to campaigns or taking action together. But that hasn’t stopped us. In 2019, MOLA Prospect members went on strike over pay and conditions. The current cost-of-living crisis is having, and will have, a massive impact on our lower paid archaeologists, so we imagine there will be many discussions in the coming year.”

In 2018 Prospect Archaeology produced a research paper entitled “Getting our house in order” about harassment in the industry. This involved interviewing 300 archaeology members. According to the committee, it concluded that much of the bullying against archaeologists came not from third party contractors but was internal in the workplace.

As a result of these findings a Prospect-led campaign was moulded into a specific archaeology one, arguing that companies needed to implement a victim-led approach to claims of bullying and harassment along with more inclusive and respectful workplaces.

Starting salaries for archaeologists range from £21,000 to £25,000 despite the scientific, mathematical skills needed for the job along with physical fitness for excavations. Most archaeologists also have undergraduate and often postgraduate degrees in archaeology.

According to a Prospect research paper published in June, senior archaeologists are likely to see their pay fall by £3,000 in real terms, with entry-level archaeologists seeing a £2,000 fall.

As a result, Prospect Heritage launched the campaign “World class heritage — second class pay” earlier this year, an issue exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis. The branch committee argued that the purpose of the campaign is not just to gain better pay for heritage workers such as archaeologists but also to argue for the social, cultural, and economic value of the sector.

“We’re calling for increased recognition and appreciation of the social, cultural, and economic value the sector brings; and for increased and more flexible funding models to deliver improvements to low pay levels, a lack of pay progression mechanisms and career development, and often poor employment terms and conditions.”

Overtime is another key issue in the industry, with the branch achieving success in negotiating with employers about rates of holiday pay which included overtime and allowances. Prior to this many companies had been paying employees holiday pay in line with their base salaries rather than an average over the last 12 weeks including extra payments.

When Covid hit the country in March 2020, the branch leapt into action publishing a Covid toolbox talk on their Facebook page. This was followed by a guidance document and the foundation of Covid working parties involving Prospect Health and Safety reps as archaeology was identified as a high-risk profession. Branch officers also helped members deal with self-isolation and furlough.

The recent heatwave was also a major issue for members working outdoors, with the branch providing health and safety advice to members. This included support to members at companies who weren’t implementing mitigations including reps speaking on behalf of employees who were in difficult situations.

The increase in industrial action across the country has shown how important trade unions are in the modern world as the assault on working people continues during the cost-of-living crisis.

The trade union movement has struggled to adapt to the move from heavy industry to a service and knowledge economy. However, the work of Prospect Archaeology shows that trade unionism is possible in areas where traditionally it’s struggled to gain a foothold and has huge potential for the future. Our heritage sector is criminally taken for granted — and now is the time for that to change.